Digital experiences will be paramount to member engagement: Bravura

Bravura’s group chief executive believes developing customised, targeted digital experiences will be key for super funds to build member retention and engagement in the years to come.

Speaking to Super Review, Bravura’s Andrew Russell said that, as competition increases between funds, the winners will be the ones embracing choice in their functionality.

“The ones that are going to win are basically going to allow their members to choose, to have the capability and functionality with market-leading technology that [members] can choose one channel, using digital in their own time and devices, and then be able to speak to someone face to face or over the phone,” he said.

This has been a growing area of importance for funds that are continually trying to improve experiences for members.

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Earlier this year, Roy Morgan’s Superannuation Satisfaction Report found super satisfaction stood at 66.7 per cent in January, above the long-term average of 58.3 per cent from 2007–24.

However, it fell short of surpassing the record satisfaction levels of 72 per cent reported in January 2022.

“I think all of the super funds in the industry are trying to do a number of different things to offer more to their members from a customer experience perspective. But at the same time, they’ve been trying to run a very good business from an operational perspective,” Russell said.

“Where they can provide greater customer-focused activities, by reducing costs in their back office by using technology, that will really allow them to focus on the moments that matter.”

In today’s digital age, such engagement is almost a given for members, he said.

“The world’s changing and all of us, as members of super funds, are expecting customised digital experiences, whether it’s for your shopping, whether it’s for buying or surveying property, or buying mortgages. Why should super be any different?” Russell said

“It’s such an important part of your current state of play, but also mission critical to your successful future, so where you can upgrade and use technology to be able to give you insight, inform you more, and make good decisions about your financial future, I think it’s a very good thing to be able to utilise.”

Last year, one of Australia’s largest super funds, Aware Super, migrated over 1.1 million members out of paper-based legacy systems to the Bravura Sonata Alta platform. At the time, the fund’s chief executive Deanne Stewart said that super and pension funds are “long overdue” for digital transformation.

“To stay competitive and meet new regulations they need to give members the kind of intuitive digital experience consumers now expect everywhere else in the global economy,” she said.

Bravura’s Russell agreed that, in a changing landscape, funds have been spending time defining their target operating model, including how to integrate technological solutions.

“They’ve certainly accepted the fact that, given where the state of the marketplace is, customer focus is key to winning and you’ve both basically got to think about all the customer touchpoints, particularly as they’re now going to the retirement phase. Having digital solutions to start to discuss retirement planning is very important for both acquisition and retention of their members,” he said.

“Technology is the way [funds] see as being able to accurately be able to do it, fast track it with a low cost, and they’re going through the process of actually trying to understand: what are the best suppliers of technology, how do we get it into our business, and how is it going to best fit our target operating model?”

Interestingly, amid the integration of digital solutions, he does not believe this will pose a challenge for older Australians, who have historically preferred face-to-face or phone interactions, particularly when it comes to financial advice.

Bravura recently announced a new partnership with Australia’s second-largest super fund, Australian Retirement Trust (ART), which will see its 2.3 million members getting access to the knowledge and tools they need to encourage a deeper understanding of retirement planning for better decision making.

“If you look at advice in particular, there’s a bit of a stigma that face to face is the best way to go, but most Australians aren’t overly financially literate. They want to, in their own time, use digital tools to be able to answer the burning question of ‘how much super have I got and am I going to have enough in retirement?’ and that will allow them, using our digital capabilities, to be able to play around using the tools, gaining information and reading in an environment where they don’t feel pressured, so they can build their knowledge,” Russell said

“What we’re seeing is a society shift, that everybody’s getting more confident with the use of the tools. If [the tools] are available and they’re very well constructed to have logic that applies for younger Australians, middle-aged Australians and older Australians, I think that’s good.”

However, while digital solutions can help build confidence, an omnichannel capability that allows members to reach out in person if needed will provide “the best of both worlds”, he said.

The fintech executive also addressed how Australia’s superannuation system can build up to an ‘A-grade’ retirement system, having received a B+ grade last year in the 2023 Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index, which ranks 47 retirement systems and covers 64 per cent of the world’s population.

Per the index, Australia’s B+ grade, alongside Finland and Singapore, means it has a system with a sound structure and many good features but falls short of a “first-class and robust retirement income system that delivers good benefits, is sustainable, and has a high level of integrity” of the top-ranked countries.

“When I asked them ‘how do we get to being an A grade system?’, they said a focus on retirement income planning, and how you provide better services, products, and advice to members in funds will get us to that spot, and I think we’re very focused to play our bit, using technology, to ensure we can help the industry at large get into that A+ level,” Russell said.